I had a friend, Luis, who grew up in adverse circumstances and he was the HAPPIEST person I ever met.  Here are nine key things I learned from him that helped me, that I want to share with you.

 

If something’s dragging you down in your day to day life, it can be hard to keep your chin up and focus on the positives. It’s easy to get caught up in being sad, especially if you’ve had something tragic happen like losing a loved one or being let go from a job.

However, this is not a healthy way to live. It’s important to be able to find the bright side in anything, no matter how morbid or mortifying it might be.

In this article, you will find nine key methods to help make upsetting situations easier and help you find the positives in every scenario, especially in the face of adversity.

 

 

1.   Focus on the Bright Side

Why is it so important to be able to look on the bright side?

It’s a vital skill to have if you want to keep your mental health in good shape. Now more than ever, people are seeing the value in keeping their minds healthy as well as their bodies- and this is a great step to take if you want to do that too.

Additionally, being able to view the positives in scenarios will help you be less afraid of failure, and be more open to change. Being afraid to move on and unable to see the bright side in things is a guaranteed way to make sure that you never leave your current state of mind.

You might ask yourself, “How can you find joy in the face of adversity? How am I supposed to find something good when everything is going wrong?”  When things are going wrong in life you still have the choice to approach the problem with a positive attitude.  Additionally, you do not get positive results with negative thinking so you must focus on the bright side of things to move forward in the right direction,

With that said, let’s take a look at other ideas of how you can apply this positive thinking to your own life.  Of course, some points will apply more than others depending on the situation that you’re dealing with.  It’s worth knowing these techniques, as they’ll undoubtedly be valuable in the future at one time or another.

 

 

2.  Affirmations, Mindfulness, and Positive Thinking

One of the first ways to find joy in dark situations is to hone your positive thinking and mindfulness skills.  Guided affirmations can help you in in many aspects of life, however, they seem to bring many individual light and hope when they are in otherwise dark and hopeless circumstances.  On the flip-side, positive affirmations tend to keep many people on a positive wavelength if they are already in a good place both mentally and spiritually.  Typically, this works because if you are already feeling good, and you are receiving positive affirmations, you will become mindful of your overall well being.

Another great way to get into mindfulness is to learn how to practice mindfulness meditation.  Meditation, mindfulness, and positive affirmations all promote activation of the bodies parasympathetic system which function is to comfort the body.  However, the main aim of this modern meditation style is to help you exert more control over your emotions. If you’re not sure where to get started, try checking out some video tutorials on Youtube online or downloading a mediation app.

Self-Help books are other great resources for sparking positive thinking, they often make you think and become mindful. and, lieratue that is desiged to make you feel good and have a positive outlook is a great starting point to find joy within yourself in times of suffering and adversity.

 

 

3.  Embrace it and Roll With the Punches

Rocky Balboa said, “The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life.”  Sometimes, the best way to deal with a bad scenario is to just accept it.  In fact, to grow from your hardship, you first need to accept it.  Nothing positive will arise from throwing a pity party, that will  only make your suffering worse.  If you are not happy with the state of your life change it, and if you can’t, the other constructive choice is to learn how to enjoy the life you have.  With that said,  acknowledging your feelings and giving yourself time to process feeling sad can actually be a very powerful step to take if you want to work on your happiness.

 

4.  Try to Adjust Your Outlook on Life

There is a lot of power in perspective, FREE e-Book download below.  You can see the glass as either half-empty, half-full, or try to keep it empty so so you can fill it with whatever you want, whenever you want, life is all about perspective.

Often, when people are in sad or stressful situations, they get stuck in one particular thought pattern- they may feel like the world is setting them up to fail, for example.

To really find the positives in any scenario, it’s important that you take a step back and readjust your worldview. Are you really having the worst week of your life, or has something bad happened that’s had a knock-on effect on how you’re feeling? Be critical with yourself, but remember to treat yourself kindly.

 

 

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4.  Become Proactive

If you’re feeling down or struggling with a negative situation, it can be easy to succumb to discouragement give up and not take any actions to make yourself feel better, which will only lower your self-esteem and and make you feel worse in the long run.  Instead, if you are unhappy with the way things are, you should consider working hardfor the way you want them to be.  Production boosts morale, hardwork increases confidence, and overcoming challenges is a testament to ones character. If you’re truly looking to find the good in a bad situation, make some small, positive changes in your life to kick-start a new direction of life.  Often times, adversity and suffering are turning points for new beginnings in life.

 

 

5.  Work on Your Introspection And Self-Reflection skills

Being able to reflect on yourself as a person is hugely instrumental in being able to find the positives in life.  This is a skill that can take a lot of time to fully master, so taking any small steps now will be beneficial.

If you’re looking for a way to get started with this, journaling can be a great way to reflect and evaluate how your life is going. You could try bullet journaling,  gratitude journaling,or even try poetry, for example, as methods of introspection.

 

 

6.  Recognize Your Achievements and Focus on the Future

When life throws punches at you, it’s important to not take it personally.  If something negative is happening, make sure to take time out to celebrate your successes and progress.  It is always good to reflect on your journey, not only to appreciate your growth, but to remember where you came from so you know where you are going.    Whatever the case may be,, make sure that you actively seek out the positive within yourself.

 

 

7.  Analyze your Weaknesses and Make a Plan for Success

As mentioned, self analysis is a hugely important skill to have.  Now, take this one step further and make yourself some goals based off of this analysis. Are you suffering due to issues at work, for example? Try setting yourself some performance based goals, or challenge yourself to attend that company party you’ve been dreading.
Take it one step at a time

Sadness and negativity can often make situations feel much more hectic than they actually are, and it’s easy to get swept away by them. If you’re looking for the positives in a scenario, make sure to not get carried away and to take everything one step at a time.

Feeling overwhelmed by the week ahead? Take it half an hour at a time. When it comes to your mental health and well-being, there’s no need to rush.

8.  Focus on What is Within your control

This final point ties up all of the previous advice about self reflection and remaining proactive . To truly find happiness in the darkest of times, you’re going to need to work on what’s in your own circle of control. Try not to sweat the small stuff, and at the end of the day, it is all small stuff.

Don’t let yourself get bogged down or discouraged by things that you can’t control.  Let go of these elements, and only let yourself worry about the things that truly matter in your own life.

To Sum It Up

Overall, being able to find joy in suffering is one of the best skills you can have to get you through life. Having genuine control over your own mind is a very empowering feeling, and it’s liberating being able to breeze through stressful situations.

It takes time and practice, and definitely won’t come overnight. Simply adjusting your worldview, practicing some mindfulness techniques and taking it one step at a time can do you a world of good.

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